Survivor Series 1997

[ColdwaVer]

Ok, I have to vote Bret on this one. The fact that the incident happened is Vince McMahon's fault for sure. But the fact that it happened the way it happened is down to Bret's behavior, for the simple reason that Bret was the only one who could have stopped what happened. Bret had been in the company fifteen years; he knew what kind of game Vince played, he knew what kind of game Shawn played. Why he assumed that they would follow through on what they promised will forever escape me. And it's not like he didn't have suspicions, or else why would he have asked Hebner to swear to him that nothing was going to go wrong? Bret had a chance to immortalize himself beyond a shadow of a doubt that night. He could have given the performance of his life, lost the title in a fighting blaze of glory, and then stood alone in the ring afterwards to pay tribute to the fans. The story would have gotten out all the same, that Bret was forced against his will to drop the title to Michaels, and that though it went against every fiber of his being to do, in the end he swallowed his pride and made that sacrifice. Bret would have been hailed as a saint, and the scales of blame would be undeniably tipped towards Shawn and Vince (and Earl.) The way he's handled it since then has served to drive it into the heads of a lot of fans that Bret is a bitter crybaby. In the end, two wrongs don't make a right, and although Bret has every right to be angry and bitter over how things happened, I'll never get past the idea that Bret could have made that night a glorious moment for himself, but chose to make it the blight on the wrestling world that it is.

[Excellance of Execution]

Originally Posted by ColdwaVer Ok, I have to vote Bret on this one. The fact that the incident happened is Vince McMahon's fault for sure. But the fact that it happened the way it happened is down to Bret's behavior, for the simple reason that Bret was the only one who could have stopped what happened. Bret had been in the company fifteen years; he knew what kind of game Vince played, he knew what kind of game Shawn played. Why he assumed that they would follow through on what they promised will forever escape me. And it's not like he didn't have suspicions, or else why would he have asked Hebner to swear to him that nothing was going to go wrong? Bret had a chance to immortalize himself beyond a shadow of a doubt that night. He could have given the performance of his life, lost the title in a fighting blaze of glory, and then stood alone in the ring afterwards to pay tribute to the fans. The story would have gotten out all the same, that Bret was forced against his will to drop the title to Michaels, and that though it went against every fiber of his being to do, in the end he swallowed his pride and made that sacrifice. Bret would have been hailed as a saint, and the scales of blame would be undeniably tipped towards Shawn and Vince (and Earl.) The way he's handled it since then has served to drive it into the heads of a lot of fans that Bret is a bitter crybaby. In the end, two wrongs don't make a right, and although Bret has every right to be angry and bitter over how things happened, I'll never get past the idea that Bret could have made that night a glorious moment for himself, but chose to make it the blight on the wrestling world that it is.

Excellant point's. I agree that Bret could have done different, but i still feel that the proposed finished would have worked also. Where there was a double DQ ending and Bret would drop the title the next night in a four way match. Vince's fear that Bret would have brought the title to Nitro is absurd, i think most people can agree that Bret would have never have done that.

[Zen v.W.o.]

Originally Posted by Excellance of Execution Excellant point's. I agree that Bret could have done different, but i still feel that the proposed finished would have worked also. Where there was a double DQ ending and Bret would drop the title the next night in a four way match. Vince's fear that Bret would have brought the title to Nitro is absurd, i think most people can agree that Bret would have never have done that.

...

Exactly. Bret grew up in the business, he would never spit on it like that. Stu would practically disown him if he had pulled such a stunt.
No way in hell Bret ever does that to a company he considered home and like family. He truly was appreciative of all that company gave him and his family.
That's not how Bret operates, he's a pure pro.

[ColdwaVer]

Originally Posted by Excellance of Execution Vince's fear that Bret would have brought the title to Nitro is absurd, i think most people can agree that Bret would have never have done that.

Bret might not have done it, however it's not totally a matter of what Bret would have done. Bischoff could very well have hailed Bret as the never-beaten WWF champion come to WCW. He could have appeared even with a replica WWF belt and trashed it a la Madusa without Bret ever being part of it. No, I don't think Bret would have had a pisstake all over the title on TV, yes, I agree that he had/has too much respect for the business than that, but I also think that Bischoff would have personally and literally crapped on the belt if he thought it would have meant ratings.

Bottom line, Bret might not have taken the belt to WCW, but Bischoff would certainly have brought the WWF champion into WCW.